Interview time

I always liked this one - great job by the people at Open Book.

Have a read - and then go through their other interviews, really good stuff.

Craig Terlson on Exploring Truth Through Scandal and Conspiracy

Illustrator Craig Terlson spent more than twenty years drawing for the likes of The Boston Globe, The Globe and Mail, and Saturday Night magazine, racking up numerous awards. After making it to the finals of a Washington Post Writer’s Group contest, he realized just how much he loved creating stories as well as images, and turned his attention to fiction.

Now his novel, Fall in One Day (Blue Moon Publishers), is here, proving Terlson is just as talented with words as he is with illustration. Following 15-year old Joe Beck through a turbulent summer during the Watergate scandal, Fall in One Day asks questions about trust, identity, and integrity. As Joe searches for his missing best friend, Brian, he watches politicians try to lie their way out of the scandal south of the border. It seems like the truth - about Brian, about the world - is forever being withheld. It's a painfully relatable story, and one that will keep you turning the pages not only to find out what happens next but because of the bond readers feel with Joe, whose vulnerability, honesty, and bravery drive the story to its stunning conclusion. 

We're excited to speak with Craig today about Fall in One Day as part of our Lucky Sevenseries. He tells us about exploring truth and conspiracy through Joe's story, how the story changed and evolved during the 10 year writing process, and the other literary love that is driving his next project.

Open Book:

Tell us about your new book and how it came to be.

Craig Terlson:

The impetus of Fall in One Day began with the idea of hidden truths. I have always been fascinated by stories of conspiracy and intrigue, as well as the paranoia that comes out of not knowing who is telling the truth, and what remains unknown. Growing up in the 1970s, I knew that Watergate was a watershed moment not just for the United States, but Canada, and really the whole world. In the novel, I wanted to explore these ideas of hidden truth and subversion in the era of Watergate, but in a more intimate, family situation—because families also can hide the truth.

OB:

Is there a question that is central to your book, thematically? And if so, did you know the question when you started writing or did it emerge from the writing process?

CT:

Ultimately the question that drove the novel was, “Is it better to know the truth, even if it is painful?” As teenagers navigate adolescence they experience this wondering about truth-telling in a profound way. Other themes emerged as the novel developed, but at the centre of the story was the question of who can be trusted.

I didn't know this when I started writing Fall in One Day. The writing began by following the main characters, and listening to where they were going. I know it sounds a bit odd, or mystical, when writers say that, but I've learned that you can't force a story where it doesn't want to go. Writing under the constraints of theme is a recipe for a novel that becomes an overlong Aesop's Fable.

Read the Rest of the interview here at open book.